it puts new restrictions on mail-in voting and grants new powers to partisan poll watchers. >> ac 360 starts now. we begin tonight with 9 seconds of video that speak to the chaos and desperation in afghanistan. take a look. >> what you see happened at the airport perimeter in kabul. that's a baby being handed to american troops on top of the wall. we can't say much more than that. we don't know why the child was handed over nor do we know where the child's parents were nor if

they're in the crowd. we asked the pentagon for comment. we have breaking news as well. new details of the top american commander in afghanistan. to be clear, these are not the ongoing talks between diplomats in qatar. this is a rear admiral speaking directly with the taliban. also tonight, new groups that foresaw this. telling you about the extraordinary action they saw to warn their boss that the situation could rapidly deteriorate and that they feared a catastrophe which is exactly what came to pass. which is exactly why the biden administration is scrambling, why it's now knows negotiate with the taliban and why despite evacuation efforts some of the growing number of transport planes are leaving kabul less than full. people who want to leave cannot safely get through taliban checkpoints to the airport.

they have made it clear they're not getting afghans and neither do they know how many afghans are still in the country. john kirby wouldn't say. he wouldn't give a number. >> i do not have a breakdown. i suspect that over time as our manifesting process gets more refind we may be able to be there, but we don't have that specific breakdown. >> today how many american citizens remain in afghanistan? >> i don't know. >> when asked the same question neither did the state department spokesman. >> how many more americans left in afghanistan? they referred them to the state. >> well, we have been consistent in -- in explaining that in every country americans register with the embassy so it's a

voluntary thing. >> as for afghans, he was notified he was eligible got stuck in crowds. he waited with them for hours fearing for their lives. their 2-year-old son growing dehydrated. i decided the taliban shoot me in the head than to be stuck in that situation. it's hard to remember that country or any other country couldn't do better for him or others. more now on the attempt now sadly necessary to salvage the situation. the talks with the taliban, cnn's natasha tran joins us with details. natasha, what more do you know about how the u.s. is dealing with the taliban? >> anderson, the top u.s. commander has kbn cumulommune been -- been communicating with the taliban trying to ensure that americans are able to get to the airport safely trying to

ensure that there are no major issues with westerners getting through and getting to the airport and getting on flights. that of course has had mixed results. we're seeing reports of afghans not being allowed to get to the airport even though u.s. officials saying part of what the u.s. commander has been discussing with the taliban is to allow the afghans to get to the airport. they have set up a perimeter outside of the airport. that's part of the understanding. when they stay outside the airport, the taliban can pretty much do what it wants outside of the airfield, right? this is something u.s. officials have been emphasizing for days, that they are working diplomatically to find a solution here. ultimately, that's the most they can do. the u.s. has no intention right now in these talks with the taliban to inform them that they are going to be fanning out across the city and trying to pick up penal and bring them

back to the airport. on top of all of this, the former ambassador to afghanistan is arriving in kabul to also help in talks with the taliban and ensure that safe passage of americans and afghans to the ear port. again, really chaotic right now. the taliban seems to have pretty much free rein outside of that airport and air fields. lawmakers have stark questions this morning for u.s. officials from state, defense, and the national security council. the u.s. mission is just to secure the airport. that seems to be the taliban expectation as well. >> has the u.s. given any actual number of afghans who either have already been approved for visa or -- and have one or are in the pipeline to do it? do we know an actual number? and also including their family members. and is there actually -- i mean, is that part of the active discussion about afghans or is it simply about americans?

>> well, lawmakers just this past weekend were given an estimate by officials that as many as 60,000 afghans could be eligible for that evacuation. not just the siv, special immigrant visa applicants that have worked with the u.s. in the past, for example. that includes human rights defenders, activists, journalists who might be targets and would benefit from getting out of the country. that's as many as 60,000. as of mid july or end of july there are 20,000 special immigrant applicant visas trying to get out of the pipeline. how many have gotten out? the state department has not given us a breakdown. they say 7,000 people have been evacuated at this point but won't say how many are afghans, versus americans versus others who are able to get out. >> i appreciate it. thank you. the diplomats who fear what we're seeing now are warning at

the top of the state department. kiley atwood joins us. what have you learned about this? >> reporter: this was a dissent memo written by the diplomats in kabul urging the secretary of state that the state department needed to take more urgent action to process and evacuate the afghans who had worked alongside u.s. troops and u.s. diplomats because they were watching what was unfolding on the grounds. they predicted that the afghan government was going to collapse by the time of the u.s. troop withdrawal. they needed their voices heard and it's significant that they even wrote this dissent memo in the first place because it's not the first thing the diplomats do. this is a last-ditch effort. it's when they don't feel their voices are being heard and then they write to the secretary of state in hopes that their input will implement some changes. now the significance here is that president biden has been asked about what went wrong and he is it essentially, you know,

saying as recently as in that abc interview that this was inevitable. this chaos that we are seeing unfold was going to happen. what this dissent memo shows is that these diplomats felt like there was action that could have been taken more rapidly to mitigate at reese some of this chaos from happening so that you could get the afghans out of the country more quickly. >> has there been any response from the state department or secretary blinken about this? >> john finer spoke with wolf blitzer about it earlier this evening. he acknowledged that this dissent memo did predict that the afghan government was going to fall by the time of the complete u.s. troop withdrawal but he also said, listen, there was also a lot of other folks who were predicting that. no one predicted it was going to happen as quickly as it did. he also said there were certain aspects of this memo that were implemented. state department spokesperson said secretary of state reads every single dissent memo, therefore, he read this one.

he reviews the response to it. as i said, the fact that it was even written is significant. you can be rest assured that those on the hill who are looking for answers as to what went wrong here are going to want to review this in detail and see what was done and what wasn't done that these diplomats were suggesting. anderson? >> kiley at wood, thank you. ryan crocker, former u.s. ambassador to syria, iraq. appreciate you being on with us tonight. first of all, the reporting that we got today that the top american commander is in negotiations with the taliban to try to secure evacuations, i'm wondering, does that make sense to you? it seems like a practical thing. do you think it -- would afghans be included in those negotiations? obviously the priorities are american citizens. would it also be about afghans? >> i think the admiral is doing exactly what he should be doing

to talk to the -- those on the ground who have guns. on a narrow agenda obviously. i would very much hope that the issue of our special immigrant visa folks who are desperate to get out could be covered in any understandings that are reached. we have to give priority to our own citizens. these are thousands of afghans with their families, 60,000, that we promised we would get them to safety but we're not delivering on it because we weren't ready for the taliban takeover that we're forced to deal with. he's doing the right thing. i'm sure he's got his diplomatic counterparts with him and we'll see what happens. >> here's what i don't understand. i'm not sure if it's known at all but we've heard as many as 60,000, which is the people who directly work for the u.s. but

also their family members. is it people who have already been -- you know, obviously there's a certain number of people who have gone through this process. this process has often taken years for people. it's been very frustrating for people. you have special forces veterans who have served with interpreters vouching for people and it still takes a long time. would this just be people who have been already approved for -- a vees or just anybody in the pipeline because it's an emergency situation would be allowed to get on a flight, put somewhere while the paperwork goes through? because there's a lot of afghans showing up at the airport with a letter of appreciation for a job they held on a base somewhere and obviously have not gone through whatever the process is.

>> well, listen, on this particular issue, i'm on the advisory board of a nonprofit called no one left behind. our whole mission in life is to get those who have worked with us and risked their lives doing so, to get them to safety. now the special immigrant visa process is the process from held. 14 complex steps and takes years to adjudadjudicate. what we have urged is anyone that is involved in the process at any stage needs to be evacuated. you can sort the paperwork out later, but it would be unbelievably calloused to say you've got 13 out of 14, not good enough. we have to toss the rule book and pick it up at the other end.

the imperative has to be get people to safety. >> without some sort of negotiation, which seems to be ongoing, between the u.s. and the taliban on the ground about just the logistics of getting people to the airport safely, it seems highly unlikely that the u.s. military would -- i talked to congressman jason crow who talked about expanding the perimeter from the airport. perhaps creating better lanes. there seems like a whole lot of risks. >> sadly because of our own unprepared ps you are in a situation where the taliban are calling the shots, literally calling the shots, not us. they have agency. they will decide what they want to do and don't want to do.

clearly it would be dangerous to expand our mission and expand our footprint and that's what the president's precipitous actions have created for us. here's the conundrum. we have to figure this out. here special immigrant visa applicant, word reaches you, get to the airport, we'll fly you out. well, you get stopped at a taliban checkpoint and what do you say to the taliban at the checkpoint who say, airport's closed. why are you trying to go there? what do you do? do you say, well, i -- it's all arranged for the americans to fly me out. i worked for them and against you and if i don't fly out you're going to kill me, well, that is not a formula for

success. so, again, the -- the bad judgment of president biden has put a whole lot of folks at unnecessary risk. >> does it -- you've been ambassador in a number of places. i've traveled a lot to a lot of countries. i've never registered to the embassy in any of the countries that i've visited. i'm not surprised the embassy wouldn't know how many americans are in country at one time. does it surprise you? obviously in a place like afghanistan it's more likely people would register. in your experience, do people usually register? >> look, again, it depends on the country. it depends on the individual. registrations never total up to the actual number in country, but there is a required report several times a year about numbers of american citizens. so we kind of know how to do that. count up all our registrations

obviously, but we can normally make a pretty educated guess on number of americans that may not be registered. for the department to say they really don't know, that may be technically true, but actually i would think we've got a pretty good idea. >> investor crocker, i really appreciate your expertise as always. thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up next, what the white house is doing to turn the situation around or trying to do and the pressure the administration is now under from democrats. later, a bomb scare. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

heyyy! (steins breaking)

your cousin. ♪ from boston. ♪ it means, “ok-to-beer-fest”. another sam octoberfest? nein. make it ten! i like this guy. (cheers) the breaking story tonight on the state department dissent memo that was written by diplomats in kabul in advance of the collapse of the city. expressing concerns about what might happen and needing to speed up the process to get visas for afghans. it highlights how deep a hole the biden administration is in. the president, as you know, struck a defiant tone yesterday. thinking tonight the behind the scenes action tonight. we're joined by kaitlyn collins. we did not hear from the president today. what's happening behind closed doors? the white house.

what's going on? >> he is going to speak on afghanistan tomorrow. this is going to be mid morning. it's not expected to be as formal of an address as it was on monday where you heard the president come out, he spoke at length for probably 20, 25 minutes not talking about how the draw down is going but why he felt it was so necessary for the u.s. to leave afghanistan. we will hear from him tomorrow which is notable. he has not taken questions on it since he did an abc interview overnight. that was of course talking about what was on the ground, what he was seeing, what their effort was going forward when it came to these evacuations that we're seeing. it will be notable to see the president talk about this and if he does take questions, to see what has transpired. >> is there any sense from the president's advisers for him to get through this he needs to be more straightforward about everything? is that not a point of discussion? >> i think his advisers realize behind the scenes the coined of

incoming they are getting and what they are hearing from their critics and republicans but from democrats as well, anderson, who say they have a lot of questions. the questions aren't going away because the news cycle is continuing, the days are moving forward. they are watching the evacuation very closely. there are going to be congressional hearings and they are going to have the president's top aides testifying about what happens behind the scenes. i think that's going to be a big question. right now the white house is focused on the evacuation, getting the american citizens and endangered afghans out of there. lawmakers are going to have questions about how the draw down went so poorly and how they got to this position. appreciate. >> stay with us, kaitlyn. i want to bring in maggie haberman. maggie, you heard kaitlyn's reporting. are you surprised the white house hasn't gotten any better at this? competence was the catch phrase

one heard about this white house. certainly this is the first major policy crisis and it's not going well. >> anderson, there's two factors. the white house seems overwhelmed by events on the ground which is to some extent how he says there was always going to be chaos, that was true, it just wasn't necessarily on the withdrawal. there are reports that are leaking out and then officials who are speaking publicly saying essentially, it weernlt us. we did x, y, z right. it was the other agency that didn't do it right. there hasn't been a lot of that at all with this administration. you're clearly seeing tonight that some white house officials, some administration officials realize they're taking on water on this. you're seeing officials trying to fan out and at the end of the day it is the president who the public wants to hear from and he has not been heard from very much other than a pretty

defensive interview he gave to abc. >> kaitlyn, one of the questions is whether the white house knows how many americans and afghans are in kabul trying to get to the airport. he would imagine the state department has a good idea how many americans would be there. >> if they did, they have not revealed that. we've been hearing why this has been happening. 5,000 from the state department early on, then we heard 5 to 10, then 10 to 15 to lawmakers on the hill. we were wondering how come it was such a big gap. what they were saying earlier, what you were talking about with former ambassador crocker, when you go somewhere especially like afghanistan, you have to register as an american citizen. you don't have to deregister. other countries, what we've

heard from other diplomats, they are struggling with this as well, figuring out how many citizens are still there. they are trying to get the word out, anderson. the other thing is not knowing how many are there, it's how are they going to get americans who cannot get to the airport. it is a treacherous journey. they are relying on the taliban to get through. a lot of people are leaving because they feel like they are targets of the taliban. that's another big issue they're dealing with. how do they go out and get this. that's something that's front of mind for a lot of white house officials right now. >> maggie, do you think this was hubris on the part of the administration thinking they have -- they want to withdraw and they feel they should just go ahead and do it? was part of it thinking the american people weren't really paying attention to afghanistan, hadn't for a long time and certainly the idea of a forever war is not something that's

popular? i mean, i'm trying to understand how they misjudged things even just in terms of the optics of this. >> one of the things in terms of the pure optics, anderson, that has been discussed a little bit, my understanding is a number of senior white house officials were on vacation while this all started unfolding and did not return from vacation until it was clear well after sunday that things were quite messy. that part has been very surprising but that is the reason why. the administration has given a number of different reasons as to why it was that the evacuations out of afghanistan did not take place sooner and those are often in conflict. sometimes they are blaming afghans. sometimes they're blaming processing in the u.s. systems. sometimes they are blaming the trump administration. there is no clear through line. i tonight think it's hubris. i tonight think that is what this is. i think it is a policy choice that president biden has stuck with for some time and been consistent about but he said

something publicly that did not turn out to be true. a at the end of the day they get judged on that and they have yet to give a coherent answer as to why things went wrong the way they did. as caitlyn said, we are hearing a number of different reports that are coming out about numbers of people who are still there, how they are being removed and the things the government are saying about how this is going is at odds with what we're seeing from clarissa ward and what she's reporting and that's disappointing as well? >> kaitlyn, are there people the president is listening to? during the obama years, everyone knew vice president biden's position was counter to president obama's on it. is he listening to anyone on this? do we know? >> that plays a factor. he sat through meetings and he advocated for a withdrawal and

those warnings from vice president biden went ignored. i think that was a big factor into a lot of what drove the decision. when it comes to who he is listening to, secretary of state blinken and his national security adviser jake sullivan are probably two of the closest aides to president biden on this. certainly when it comes to foreign policy, obviously they are at the top of the chain of command when it comes to that. they play a role in this and how they're handling this going forward. i would note we have not heard from secretary blinken in person. that is not the case when it comes to the defense secretary or the chairman of the joint chiefs or jake sullivan though secretary blinken has been invited to testify next week. this is another interesting thing that president biden said in that abc interview, which is he said from what he could recall, he was not going against the advice of military leaders advising him to keep the 2500 u.s. troops in afghanistan. we reported back in april that he actually had been advised by

several of them to do that and he essentially overruled them. not surprising, we knew this was his position. it is notable he is saying he doesn't recall that being something that came up, advice that he was given by them given not only cnn, several outlets have reported that. >> kaitlyn collins, maggie haberman. a special operations veteran wounded joins us and gives us his reaction to events on the ground.

and there you have it- woah. wireless on the most reliable network nationwide. wow. -big deal! ...we get unlimited for just 30 bucks. sweet, i get that too and mine has 5g included. that's cool, but ours save us serious clam-aroonies. relax people, my wireless is crushing it. that's because you all have xfinity mobile with your internet. it's wireless so good, it keeps one upping itself. to give you some ideas of

the challenges making the flights out of kabul, cnn has obtained a message from locally employed staff. they could come to the airport for evacuation. some didn't because of the danger though they desperated wanted out. others had to turn out. some who made it were bloody, mentally distraught and lost most of their belongings along the way. scenes that are painfully visible to interpreters and others trying to get out of afghanistan. jimmy hatch is a special operations veteran, served in afghanistan. so, jimmy, i have been thinking about you a lot wondering what is going through your mind when you see, you know, just all the images play out that we've seen over the last couple of days. >> it's sad and it's kind of disturbing. i'm sure that nobody in the

administration or in the military got up one day thinking, we're just going to wing this. this is the situation we find ourselves in. not long before this program started i had an email from the mother of a young guy who was attached to my unit that was killed in august of 2011, so 10-year anniversary. i asked her how she was doing. she said she was angry and heart broken. i mean, i think a lot of us gave a lot of effort there and i think to see it come unraveled like this is disheartening. we have to look for positive things to pull ourselves out of it. >> cnn is reporting about an afghan man that worked out of the u.s. embassy, tried to make it to the airport with his family, forced to give up because of the chaos along the way. i feel for the troops who are at the airport who are trying to clearly do the best they can to help people. it has got to be an incredibly difficult and just even horrific

thing to witness, to be the one picking up a baby from this crowd and not -- what do you do in that situation? what would you like to see happen now? >> gosh, that's a big situation and i'm certainly not aware of all of the dynamics but i think -- you know, it was mentioned earlier, i think ambassador crocker and you were talking, how there were people like me from the military who worked for interpreters and could vet for them. we could use that. there are people with names that we know that we worked with. that might streamline things. it seems like it's so chaotic. >> the role of interpreters who you worked with and others worked with, how important were they and are they in ongoing missions? >> i think particularly for the special operations forces

that -- and that's all i really know about. i didn't do anything with the conventional forces really, but with us it was super important because we were actually -- generally we did our missions at night and it was super important that we identify, you know, who we're looking for. if we didn't have those guys, you know, my gosh, we wouldn't have had a lot of success when we were trying to capture people. i think it's also important that people understand that they saved our lives but they also saved the lives of a lot of other afghans. i feel like, you know, this is a moral issue, which a lot of people have thrown that word around. it's also a very practical issue. there are other military units working in other countries around the world. i can guarantee you the people that are working are paying close attention to how we're handling this. it's a practical thing as well. we need to get our arms around this and figure out how to do it quickly. it seems to me there are people on the ground that know how to do exactly what happened and

we're the united states of america. what do you guys need? let's get it done. that kind of spirit i think needs to happen. as has been mentioned previously by the other guests, there's so much chaos on the ground i can only sympathize with the people trying to sort this out. >> one of the things i worry about in the coverage of this is that for those who have served in afghanistan, who sacrificed so much, who lost friends, who lost limbs, who were wounded, you yourself were wounded in afghanistan, to see all that's going on and, you know, it's hard enough to deal with memories of having served in a place like afghanistan where there was a lot of loss and a lot of difficulty, how -- what do you suggest? i mean, what do you suggest to others, veterans who are out there who are watching this and having a lot of difficulty watching and, you know, seeing

what's going on and thinking about their own experiences there? >> i think it's important that we keep in touch with one another. that's really happened with me. there's two kinds of communication that go on between myself and people i served with. one is, hey, we have an interpreter or some people from a unit that we worked with that they're trying to get their family out. do you have any contacts that can help us. the other is, are you okay, man? is this taking a toll on you? let's talk. there's a lot of that. that, i think, you know, with all of the mental health challenges i faced in the past because, you know, i didn't deal well with getting injured and ending my career that way, but i think the important thing is to really reach out and talk to one another and to look out for the folks that are isolating, that you're not hearing from and check in on them. be obtrusive, actually. dig your way into their lives and find out how they're doing because it is a very big deal. you have to try to find a light somewhere in all of this

darkness, you know? >> yeah. one of the places that you have found the light is with spike's canine fund and i appreciate you being with us tonight. i want to tell people, spike's canine fund, you were a handler with the s.e.a.l.s. when he retired from the s.e.a.l.s he was shot in afghanistan, he found an organization called spikes canine fund. they raise money to get custom made kevlar vests, body armor for dogs in military units, often whom are in harm's way, don't have protection like other law enforcement personnel and this helps protect a lot of animals who are in harm's way. to learn more about it go to spike's canine fund.org. that's spike's canine fund.org. you can see images of 1yi78y in advance and he trains a lot of canines. i appreciate you being with us.

>> thanks for having me, anderson. a suspect at the u.s. capitol said to have a bomb. led to a standoff and evacuation by police. the question is why. breaking news next. [sfx: radio being tuned] welcome to allstate. ♪ [band plays] ♪

a place where everyone lives life well-protected. ♪ and even when things go a bit wrong, we've got your back. here, things work the way you wish they would. and better protection costs a whole lot less. you're in good hands with allstate. click or call for a lower auto rate today.

emergency planning for kids. we can't predict when an emergency will happen. so that's why it's important to make a plan with your parents. here are a few tips to stay safe. know how to get in touch with your family. write down phone numbers for your parents, siblings and neighbors. pick a place to meet your family if you are not together and can't go home. remind your parents to pack an emergency supply kit. making a plan might feel like homework, but it will help you and your family stay safe during an emergency. there's more breaking news after a tense day. january 6th type of attack running high. capitol police say a man

claiming to have a bomb posed an hours' long standoff. fortunately there was no bomb. what was on his mind as much as can be gleaned from his social media postings. more now from cnn's ryan nobles. >> reporter: it started around or about 9:00 thursday morning. 49-year-old floyd ray rose berry entered washington, d.c., in a black pickup truck looking to cause trouble. >> i'm parked up here on the sidewalk. >> he settled on a spot in front of the library of congress directly across from the u.s. capitol and claimed to anyone that would listen that his truck had a bomb. >> hey, call the police and tell them to come out here and clear the capitol. tell them to clear the capitol. >> he quickly got the attention of capitol police. they began to clear the area. at 9:43. uscp responding to a suspicious vehicle near the library of congress. please stay away from this area.

then at 9:54, less than an hour after he arrived, they sent this message to staffers on the hill telling them, among other things, if you are in a public space, find a place to hide or seek cover. that began a long and tense standoff between roseberry and police. one that would include an evacuation and lockdown of buildings across a three-block radius as police attempted to wait roseberry out. >> all right, guys. looks to me like i'm getting ready to make a phone call. >> reporter: he live streamed his grievances on facebook promising a revolution, calling out president biden. >> i'm just warning you, biden, don't pull the trigger on this truck because i'm not responsible for it. >> reporter: he demanded biden resign and complained about the nation's immigration policy and response in afghanistan. >> it's my land. it's your land.

we're the people. taking a stand. got all them penople dying in afghanistan. all them kids being raped. just let the taliban run right through. >> he also showed the inside of his truck filled with loose change he claimed would be loose shrapnel. he warned if police attempted to shoot him to end the standoff, his truck would explode. a later assessment of the truck's contents revealed there was no bomb but what police described as bomb-making materials. throughout the ordeal capitol police used inventive ways to attempt to quell the situation. >> we tried to negotiate with mr. rosenberry. we tried to do that with a white board writing messages back and forth. we used a robot to get a telephone down to him but he would not use the telephone. >> reporter: eventually five

hours after it began, roseberry gave up. >> he gave up and did not resist and our folks were able to take him into custody without incident. >> reporter: his precise motives remain unclear but based on his social media monologs, he had a big angst. his son told cnn his father took much more of an interest in politics. man, he doesn't like change, i reckon. his father told him, quote, i'm sticking up for my country. we need to get the country back to the way it was. >> ryan nobles joins us now from capitol hill. so i'm wondering what your sense is? obviously they're afraid of what happened on january 6th. he was sort of speaking the language of insurrection and stuff. clearly he was making it all up about the bomb. what's your sense of how that fear impacted the reaction

today? >> reporter: anderson, i don't think there's any doubt what happened here on january 6th and the continuing rhetoric all over social media right now just make these incidents even more serious than they would have been prior to january 6th. there's no doubt law enforcement would have taken this situation seriously, but when you go to the broader capitol hill community, the staffers, journalists, people who were up here, they hear of reports of a suspicious package or vehicle and assume it's something that will be quickly brushed away. that doesn't happen anymore. everyone treats every incident like this very seriously. when you couple it with a live stream of this individual ranting about the government, specifically the president, that just raises the anxiety level even higher. there's just no doubt that the world changed significantly for the people on capitol hill on january 6th and what happened here today just brought that home in a very real way. >> ryan nobles, thank you.

more breaking news tonight. diane gallagher joins us now with the latest on this. what have you learned, diane? >> reporter: anderson, 38 days after those texas democrats got on planes and flew to washington, d.c., receiving praise from the white house on down, their form break ended with a whimper instead of a bang. the attempt was to block restrictive voting legislation in the lone star state as they had the slimmest of margins. tonight three new democrats showed up on the house floor giving the texas house the quorum that it needs to conduct legislative business. those members issued a statement saying that they were proud of what they had accomplished but they thought it was time to get back to work on the floor citing the surge in covid-19 as the reason why they decided to come back. i'll tell you, anderson, that

their fellow democrats seemed surprised even accusing them of faking them out saying that they had had a two-hour caucus meeting earlier in the day and this had not been discussed. and anderson, they had been chipping away for a while. they went up to washington, d.c., spent weeks up there trying to lobby lawmakers on capitol hill. noting that this was going to be the inevitable end. they're in the minority party. they do not have that much power in the state of texas but that his tore rick quorum break is over and that voting legislation is already moving through the house, an der son. there is nothing to show the outcome would be any different? >> no. senate bill one contains new restrictions, adds criminal

penalties, the senate passed it a week ago. they've been waiting for the house to come back. the house came back today and there is already a public committee hearing scheduled in the house for saturday. they seem to plan to move quickly. >> diane gallagher, appreciate it. thanks. ahead, the senate is not in session. three senators today announce they have covid-19. details next. mask mandates over schools. he calls what he is doing is the right thing no matter the consequences, a badge of honor.

every single day, we're all getting a little bit better. we're better cooks... better neighbors... hi. i've got this until you get back. better parents... and better friends. no! no! that's why comcast works around the clock constantly improving america's largest gig-speed broadband network. and just doubled the capacity here. how do things look on your end? -perfect! because we're building a better network every single day.

breaking news to report. three u.s. senators announced they have tested positive for covid. angus king of maine and john hickenlooper of colorado. all three have been vaccinated. the senate is not in session right now. senator king said he began feeling mildly feverish on wednesday. the offices of senator hickenlooper said they were tested after experiencing mild symptoms. vaccines show amazing protection against severe illness. for those who can't vaccinate, in particular, children, there are, of course, masks. but also, fights over mask

mandates in schools. we are now one step closer to a legal decision over the mandates in florida after a judge today refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought in part by parents against governor ron desantis's order banning mandates that do not allow the option of an opt out. several school districts, including the state's largest in miami-dade, have defied the governor's order. superintendent from miami-dade county schools says he is doing the right thing and so will wear the consequences of his decision as, quote, a badge of honor. alberto joins me now. superintendent, thanks for being with us. have you heard from the state or the governor's office? >> good evening, anderson. not yet. but then again, our school year does not begin until monday, august the 23rd. so quite frankly, there is no impact to students as a -- as a result of the protocols that we recently adopted. so we have not received any communication from tallahassee, yet. >> so i know the school district is implementing a number of safety protocols, in addition to

a mask mandate. what else are you doing to protect students and staff? >> look. we're following all of the recommendations of our public health and medical task force. these are experts in field. and that includes social distancing, certainly in the classrooms. intense sanitization cycles utilizing ionization technology. also, the wearing of masks. strong encouragement with financial incentives for the vaccination of eligible employees. and of course, education for students and our workforce regarding required hygiene. a and i'll tell you i'm really surprised over the expert opinion of doctors, of public health officials is so easily disregarded in the face of an explosion of covid cases right here in the south florida community. just a few years ago, there were about 70 cases per 100,000

residents. now, we are dealing with in excess of 700 cases per 100,000 residents. >> hmm. >> with a reduced capacity of icu beds in our hospitals inclusive of pediatric units. >> the governor reiterated today that he feels -- and i am quoting -- that the parents understand what is best for -- for their kids. it also talked about even if a child is, you know, tests positive that -- that it's up to the parents whether that child -- should be up to the parents whether that child goes back to school or not. >> i certainly am not going to debate the opinion of the governor but i am going to certainly accept, without any question, the expert opinion of our medical entities and public health officials. and that statement is totally inconsistent with scientific practice which will tell us if someone is symptomatic. if someone has tested positive for covid, they should quarantine. and that is, indeed, one of our

protocols. secondly, second only to the vaccination of individuals who are eligible for it. masks are an effective, protective tool against the infection. they are not political statements. and i think that, as a nation, turning them into that is, quite frankly, engaged in a campaign of misinformation that can hurt individuals. >> what mask guidelines did you have in place last year? and did you face a backlash? i mean, did -- what did -- did students mind? >> that's the most incredible reality, quite frankly, we should be discussing. the guideline for mask wearing last year is remarkably similar to the protocols that we adopted this year. in fact, the board just yesterday on a 7-1 vote affirmed the opinion of our health experts. the guidelines last year provided for mandatory masking with accommodations to be made for those individual students

and employees who obviously reflected some degree of a medical concern affirmed by a doctor. in addition to a recognition that accommodations would have to be made for students with disabilities who would have difficulty wearing masks. or individuals who had an individual educational plan, an iep, or a 504 accommodation. so we have always had in place accommodations for individuals who would need them on the basis of a medical endorsement. >> superintendent carvala, i really appreciate your time tonight. thank you very much. we will continue to follow it. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ it's a wishlist on wheels. a choice that requires no explanation. it's where safe and daring seamlessly intersect.

it's understated, yet over-delivers. it is truly the mercedes-benz of sports sedans. visit your local mercedes-benz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers. ♪ ♪ my name is monique, i'm 41, and i'm a federal contract investigator. as a single parent, i would run from football games to work

and trying to balance it all. so, what do you see when you look at yourself? i see a person that's caring. sometimes i care too much, and that's when i had to learn to put myself first, because i would care about everyone all the time but i'm just as they are. botox® cosmetic is fda approved to temporarily make frown lines, crow's feet and forehead lines look better. the effects of botox® cosmetic may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness may be a sign of a life-threatening condition. do not receive botox® cosmetic if you have a skin infection. side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow, eyelid drooping, and eyelid swelling. tell your doctor about your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications including botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. see for yourself at botoxcosmetic.com without my medication, my small tremors would be extreme. i was diagnosed with parkinson's. i had to retire from law enforcement. it was devastating.

one of my medications is three thousand dollars per month. prescription drugs do not work if you cannot afford them. aarp is fighting for americans like larry, and we won't stop. that's why we're calling on congress to let medicare negotiate lower prescription drug prices. in ways big and small, the world has changed. but our commitment to getting you safely out in it? that never will. ♪ ♪ as your business changes, the united states postal service is changing with it. with e-commerce that runs at the speed of now. next day and two-day shipping nationwide,

and returns right from the doorstep. it's a whole new world out there. let's not keep it waiting. i want to take a moment to correct myself. before the break, i said that florida's governor ron desantis said it's parent's decision whether to send a child who tests positive to school or not. in fact, the governor says it should be the case for children who are exposed, not positive. children who are exposed, he says it should be up to the

parents whether or not that child goes to school. quick reminder. this saturday on cnn, don't miss "we love nyc the homecoming concert." a musical event to celebrate new york city's comeback. >> covid-19. bruce springsteen, patty smith, paul simon, jennifer hudson, to name a few. you will see it right here only on cnn saturday night starting 5:00 p.m. eastern time. the news continues. let's hand it over to chris for "cuomo prime time." chris. hello and welcome to prime time. here is the good news. the administration is now on message. all americans must be evacuated from afghanistan. but can they make it happen? that question looms as we are learning more about the truth. and the truth is this chaos was not inevitable. our secretary of state was warned by his own people on the ground in kabul of